1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to systems for registering and recording the usage of a seat belt in commercial or private vehicles and other human-operated equipment. In particular, the present invention relates to systems for detecting, monitoring, and storing seat belt usage and other safety parameter data, along with time and position data, for later retrieval.
2. Description of the Background
Automotive seat belts have been found to drastically reduce the extent of injury a person might sustain in an automobile accident Seat belts are an active restraint system, which means that the driver or passenger must act to engage the system, as opposed to air bags which do not require action from the user and are an example of a passive restraint system. The benefits of seat belt usage have caused many states to implement seat belt laws whereby a driver or passenger can be fined for not using their seat belt. Further, the reduced level of injury sustained in an accident when seat belts are employed can help to lower the amount that an insurance carrier must pay to cover medical expenses in the event of an accident. Given some mechanism to accurately record and verify seat belt usage, such reduced costs could in turn provide reduced consumer insurance rates for those drivers who use their seat belts.
Likewise, in order to reduce insurance and other expenses caused by injuries to employees, employers of truck drivers or large commercial equipment operators often set forth safety policies including the mandatory use of seat belts for such drivers and operators. Unfortunately, the prior art devices lack any method of consistently and accurately measuring and recording a vehicle operator's use of his or her seat belt, making the policing of any such policies extremely difficult.
Systems for detecting and monitoring active restraint usage are well known in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,677,336 to Best describes a system for detecting and recording the number of times a seat belt is continuously engaged for a predetermined interval of time. A counter is advanced each time, and the counter is stored in a storage device for later retrieval through the use of an electronic card. This system does not detect and monitor whether the vehicle is in motion when the seat belt is engaged. The system does not record the time or the position of the vehicle when the seat belt is engaged.
By way of further example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,119,407 to Ozmeral discloses a second odometer which intermittently engages the regular odometer of a car. When the seat belt is engaged, a solenoid engages the second odometer so that it advances with the regular odometer. Any motion of the vehicle while the seat belt is not engaged is detected by examining the difference between the mileages of the two odometers. This system also does not record the time or position of the vehicle when the seat belt is engaged. The system also does not store seat belt usage and other safety parameter data for later retrieval.
Also as an example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,483,221 to Mutter, et al., describes a series of electric switches which detect passenger active restraint engagement and door closure. An indicator is triggered if a passenger active restraint is disengaged or a passenger door is opened. This system does not store information for later retrieval.
In light of the above, it would be advantageous to provide a system for accurately and consistently measuring and recording the employment of a seat belt in both private and commercial vehicles and heavy equipment.